


Let's All Be Friends

by nearlyskeletons



Category: Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, M/M, everyone is gay ur welcome, idek what tags to put lmao, josh is cool and tyler's a dork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 18:23:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7372621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nearlyskeletons/pseuds/nearlyskeletons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“83B,” Josh repeats. Tyler nods. “Are you telling me,” he begins slowly, “that we just spent the last two hours together and didn’t even know that we’re roommates?”<br/>The elevator door opens and they both stare at each other. Tyler feels butterflies in his stomach. No way.</p><p>Alternatively, the fic where people say college is a time for self-discovery, but all Tyler is discovering is how difficult it makes life when you have a hot roommate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's All Be Friends

**Author's Note:**

> hello friends.  
> i wrote the first few paragraphs of this fic ten months ago.  
> then one day i stopped writing fics and it was forgotten.  
> but now here we are.  
> i'm back. writing is my outlet.  
> i am so excited for this fic. i have great plans for it and i hope you're excited too. :)
> 
> this fic is based off the song Let's All Be Friends by Bellevue Days. i highly encourage you to give it a listen.

“Oh, fuck me.”

“Tyler. Language.”

Tyler reaches into the center console, grabbing a napkin to wipe up the mess of Red Bull that he had so gracefully spilled all over himself. He silently thanks the lord for black jeans.

The drive from Columbus to Chicago had been a long, tantalizing one, but now they were on the homestretch. Ever since six months ago when Tyler had first been accepted to Chicago College, it was all he could think about. He breathed in the idea of a new city, a new atmosphere, as if it were his oxygen. At night the skyline appeared behind his eyelids and in daylight Chicago crowded his every thought. He practically had his bags packed the day he pulled the acceptance letter out of the mailbox.

It all led up to this moment when, as Tyler continues to mop up his mess, he hears his mother excitedly say, “Tyler, look!”

Tyler’s head shoots up and he smiles. The skyscrapers appear on the horizon, and Tyler is so ready. So, so ready. He feels new. This is him leaving behind any toxic, haunting memories from Columbus and replacing them with the view of the buildings in front of him. This is his chance to start over. He takes a deep breath and sees his mother smile at him out of the corner of his eye. She reaches her hand out and cups his jaw. Tyler glances her way and sees tears forming in her blue eyes as she stares at the road.

“My little boy is leaving me,” she says sadly. Tyler cups his hand over hers, still resting gently on his face. He closes his eyes, the mixture of happiness and sadness overwhelming him.

 

\----------

 

One of the things Tyler enjoyed most about Chicago College was that the college was not on its own “campus.” No, the campus was the city itself. A city that just so happened to be hard to navigate. When Tyler and his mom finally pull up to the college after about an hour being lost, they both simultaneously sigh in relief. And, in Tyler’s case, nervousness.

“Well, this is it,” his mom states, “are you ready?”

“More ready than I’ve ever been for anything,” he says, before admitting, “I’m a little scared, though.”

His mom leans over, kissing his forehead. “Don’t worry, Tyler. You’ll do fine. College is all about self-discovery. Besides, you’re a catch.” She winks, and Tyler smiles back at her. He was going to miss her more than anything.

They both open their doors and step into the humid Chicago air. Being the first day of September, it’s still incredibly hot. Tyler takes in his surroundings, smiling at the clear blue sky and sun shining high over the tallest buildings. He’s snapped out of his thoughts when a small, cute voice rings out from a few feet in front of him.

“Hi!” the girl greets, smiling a large, toothy grin. Tyler smiles back, taking in her appearance. The girl’s hair is yellow—not blond, but bright yellow and obviously dyed to look that way—and her bangs fall into her face. Her hair clashes with her orange t-shirt that reads “Chicago College” in white letters. Despite the colors clashing, she somehow makes it work. Tyler’s eyes drift to a sticker on her chest, which reads _Hello, My Name Is: Hayley._ “I’m Hayley! Are you moving in today?”

“Yeah, I am. I’m, um, not really sure where I’m going, though,” Tyler replies lamely.

Hayley laughs. “Well, that’s what I’m here for. What street are you on?”

Tyler glances down at the paper he has unconsciously been crumpling in his nervous grasp. “Oh, um. Let me see…this says I’m in the building on Wabash Ave?”

“Wabash Ave? That means you’re in the Bermuda Building! That’s my building!” she cheers happily, and Tyler feels his nerves unlatch from his chest at the thought of making a friend in his building. “Follow me!” she says, as chipper as someone could possibly be and practically bouncing as she begins walking away from him. Tyler glances back at his mom and motions for her to follow them, to which she complies.

“Here we are!” Hayley announces to the two, stopping in front of a large building only a block and a half away from their starting position. “Welcome to your new home,” she gushes. Cheesy. They enter the lobby and Tyler looks around at the large room, bean bag chairs scattered throughout one side with a flat-screen TV in front of them. Hayley approaches a desk near the entrance, pointing to a large man sitting in a chair behind it. “This is one of our security guards, Hank.” He looks up from whatever he had been doing and gives Tyler a small nod and friendly smile. “Anytime you enter the building you have to show your Student ID to the guard. Safety precaution.” Hayley shrugs and then smirks as she bumps her shoulder against Hank’s. “Hank is everyone’s favorite security guard.”

Hank snorts. “And Hayley is everyone’s _least_ favorite RA.”

Hayley gives him a fake-offended look. “Hank, no one likes a liar.”

“And no one likes bright yellow hair,” he retorts before shaking his head and smiling as he goes back to his computer.

“I like bright yellow hair,” she huffs before smiling and turning her attention completely back to Tyler and his mother. “Well, anyways, back to getting you settled in. What floor are you on?” she pauses before adding, “Are you on eight?”

Tyler once again glances down to his paper, skimming over it before turning his head back to Hayley and smiling as he nods. “I am, actually.”

Hayley squeals. “That’s my floor! I’m your RA. Rad.” Tyler feels insane relief knowing he has such a nice, fun RA. He’s happy there’s going to be at least one person on his floor he can talk to if he ends up hating everyone else. Hayley leads Tyler and his mom to the elevator, pushing the button for the eighth floor and chatting animatedly about the school, saying “how much Tyler will love it here.”

“One of my favorite things about this college is the dorms. The fact that they’re apartment-style is waaaay more appealing than most normal college dormitory settings,” she says, and Tyler nodded in agreement, “This also means all the floors are co-ed. Not the rooms, just the floors. Also, there’s no such thing as ‘freshman dorm’ and ‘senior dorm’ and all that jazz. We’re all one big family. Oh, Tyler, are you staying in a two-person, four-person, or six-person apartment?” Words fly out of Hayley’s mouth at a mile a minute and Tyler struggles to keep up.

“Um…six-person.” Tyler replies shyly. He had no other choice but to apply for a six-person dorm, as they were much cheaper than the ones with less roommates and he could barely afford college as it was.

The elevator arrives at the floor with a _ding_ and they all file out. “I lived in a six-person dorm my first year,” she explains, making Tyler feel slightly better about himself, “it was crowded, yeah, but it was also super fun. This is my third year here, by the way.”

“Oh. Cool.” Tyler replies. Man was he bad at making conversation. Hayley just smiles and asks him what apartment he’s in.

“This says I’m in 83B,” he answers, and Hayley nods as she leads him down the long, carpeted hallway. He’s met with eyes from kids his age as they unload boxes into their own dorms and get settled in. They have to make their way through all the chaos to get to Tyler’s dorm, which is almost at the very end of the hall. He sighs. He hates walking.

“Here we are!” Hayley announces, and Tyler looks at the closed white door in front of him with 83B written in metallic letters. Hayley faces him before saying, “Well, this is where we part for now. There are tons more people waiting to be shown to their room, and it’s kinda my job seeing as how I’m student body president.” Tyler’s eyes widen and Hayley chuckles. “Guess I forgot to mention that. Anywho, my dorm is the closest one to the elevator. It says _RA: Hayley_ in sparkly foam letters on the door. Can’t miss it. If you need anything, just pop in!”

“Thanks so much, Hayley.” Tyler replies, thankful for her kindness.

“Anytime. Hit me up later and let me know how everything’s going.”

Tyler agrees and Hayley turns on her heel, skipping off through the hustle and bustle. Watching her, Tyler has a weird feeling that the two of them will become good friends. He knows that as the student body president, it’s sort of her job to be extra nice to everyone, but he’s really hoping she actually liked him. He needs some friends.

Lost in his thoughts, Tyler totally forgets about his mom standing next to him, and her voice makes him jump. She laughs. “Why don’t you go ahead in and meet your roommates? I know where the room is now, so I’ll go ahead down and grab some boxes from the car.”

Tyler thanks her and she leaves, nervousness building as he turns toward the door. He was about to meet the people he would be living with for the next year. What if they were rude? What if they hated him? Tyler’s breathing becomes labored as he reached for the door handle, twisting it and opening the door slowly.

He’s met with eyes and bodies turning toward him as he hears conversations halt in the middle of sentences. The three boys stare at him for a second before each of them break into wide smiles.

“You must be Tyler!” one of the boys announces, jumping the couch and approaching Tyler, giving him a hard pat on the back. “Or Dallon, but I bet you’re Tyler, aren’t you? You look like a Tyler.” The boy flashes a bright smile and Tyler doesn’t think he’s ever seen teeth so white in his life. He takes in his appearance. Black t-shirt, black skinny jeans, black Vans. Tyler gulps. The boy’s quite handsome.

Tyler opens his mouth to answer when boy number two breaks in. “Five bucks says he’s Dallon.” He smirks, taking a sip from the Red Bull he has clutched in his hand. “He looks like a Dallon to me.”

“T-Tyler. I’m Tyler” Tyler stutters out. Smooth.

The boy in front of Tyler points a finger at boy number two, shouting “Ha! Told you!”

“Goddammit. Whatever, I’m broke anyways. Good luck getting those five bucks outta me,” Red Bull boy shoots back.

The cute boy in front of Tyler rolls his eyes before offering his hand to Tyler. He shakes it. “I’m Brendon. Brendon Urie. The one and only.” Tyler hears the other boy mutter something along the lines of _thank god there’s only one of you_ behind his Red Bull can, but Brendon only rolls his eyes again and yanks Tyler’s arm, bringing him towards the others. “This is Pete. The love of my life. The wind beneath my wings. Salt of the earth, really.” Pete smiled and shook Tyler’s hand before Brendon deadpans, “Just kidding, I hate him so much.”

Pete smiles. “You fucking love me.” He slaps Brendon’s ass and Tyler can tell Brendon’s struggling to keep a straight face.

“You’re going to hell.” Brendon tells Pete.

“See you there.” Pete laughs as Brendon breaks into a smile. Pete shoots finger guns at them as he backs away saying, “I’m gonna go unpack the rest of my stuff. Don’t have too much fun without me.”

Brendon shakes his head before turning back to Tyler. “Pete is really something.” He looks to his left and eyes widen a little. “Oh, Tyler. This is Patrick!” he introduces, seeming to have forgotten the third boy was even in the room. Brendon chuckles. “My bad, Patrick.”

Patrick just laughs shyly and holds out his hand for Tyler. “Hi Tyler. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Tyler responds before looking between the two. “So, um, you all already know each other?”

Brendon shakes his head. “No. Well, yes. I mean Pete and I know each other already. We’re both juniors. Patrick is a freshman like you, so we obviously have never met him. There’s going to be three juniors and three freshmen in this room. The three of us juniors asked to be together because we’re just the best of friends,” Brendon says with faux enthusiasm. “I guess they stuck us with you guys to keep an eye on you _freshmeat_.” Brendon ruffles Patrick’s hair and he rolls his eyes, at which Brendon laughs. “I’m just kidding.”

The three agree to start unpacking and get to know each other when everyone’s finished. Tyler finds out there are two beds to a bedroom, and Pete and Brendon had already claimed one of the rooms. Patrick had put his stuff in another, and Tyler decides to take a bed in the last empty room as it has a window with a nice view. About an hour later, Dallon shows up, introducing himself. He seemingly can’t decide which bed to choose, so Patrick offers to room with him. Dallon smiles and accepts, leaving Tyler the only one without a roommate. He desperately hopes that the boy who has yet to show up is going to be nice.

After Tyler is finally done—and had said a painful goodbye to his mom that may or may not have involved a lot of tears—Brendon announces it’s time for orientation. “Since there’s so many people that attend this school, they have to have two opening orientations. It’s done alphabetically. Last names A-M are in the main building and N-Z are in the theatre,” he explains, looking between Patrick and Tyler. “My last name is Urie and Pete’s is Wentz, so we’re both in the theatre. What are your last names?”

Patrick quickly announces that his is Stump, obviously relieved that he’ll be with the other two. They all turn toward Tyler, who goes a little pale as he realizes he’ll be attending orientation alone. “Mine’s Joseph,” he sighs, and the others give him sympathetic looks.

Pete pats him on the shoulder. “Hey, man. Maybe you can meet some new people.” Tyler nods at him unconvincingly, knowing he’s the worst person on the planet at making friends.

They all ride the elevator together down to the lobby as they make small talk and crack jokes. Pete and Brendon help direct Tyler to where he’s supposed to go and say goodbye as they turn to walk different ways down the busy Chicago street. College students flank Tyler on all sides and he feels anxious. He looks up and sees the sun, which had sank lower in the sky than when he had first arrived. He exhales and smiles, feeling calm. He was at his dream school. This was all he ever wanted. There was no reason to feel nervous. He makes his way to the designated building and is directed to a large room with an incredibly high ceiling. What must be thousands of chairs face a stage at the front of the room, a podium sitting atop it and a large screen off to the side where Tyler assumes there will be a presentation projected. Noise surrounds him as he makes his way in, dozens of conversations pouring into his ears.

He finds an empty seat in the very back row, fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt awkwardly, trying to decide if he should attempt talking to someone. He checks his phone and sees he still has ten minutes before it starts, but resolves to mindlessly scroll through Twitter. He does this for approximately one minute before he sees a body sink into the chair next to him out of the corner of his eye. He can see that the person is holding a Red Bull and smiles to himself as he thinks that it should be the official drink of college kids. He turns his eyes upward and, oh.

_Oh._

The boy meets Tyler’s eyes with his own chocolate ones and Tyler’s brain short-circuits. He quickly looks back at his phone and pretends to be interested in Twitter while he freaks the fuck out.

 _He is the hottest boy I have ever seen._ Tyler thinks to himself. _Oh my god what do I do should I talk to him oh my god he is the hottest boy I have EVER SEEN and I probably look like a jackass just sitting here scrolling through Twit-_

“Hey, I’m Josh,” he hears the boy say and his head immediately shoots up to look at him.

“Wha-I mean. Josh? Tyler. I mean. I’m Tyler.” Tyler says and he kind of wants to get up, walk out of the room, and continue walking straight into traffic.

Josh smiles and holy mother of god Tyler thinks that smile could get him pregnant. “Alright, _Tyler,”_ Josh drags out his name and yes, Tyler is definitely a pregnant gay man, “are you excited to start your first year here?”

Tyler blinks. “How do you know it’s my-”

“Dude,” Josh cuts him off, “you’re sitting in the back row alone looking nervous as hell and scrolling through your phone. I don’t have to be Fox Mulder to figure out you’re a freshman.” Tyler gives Josh a confused look, not understanding the reference. Josh raises his eyebrows. “Are you telling me you’ve never seen The X-Fil—you know what never mind, it doesn’t matter.” He pauses for a minute, assumedly trying to think of something to say. “What are you majoring in?” he finally asks.

Tyler wasn’t even listening. He’s looking Josh over, at his bright red hair, his nose piercing, his colorful tattoo sleeve, his black t-shirt, black skinny jeans, black Vans (Tyler notes that he’s dressed exactly like Brendon) when there’s a snap in front of his eyes and he meets Josh’s smirking face. “Um, what did you ask?” he asks embarrassingly.

“Well, if you’re done staring at me, I was asking what you’re majoring in.”

“Oh. Uh, Creative Writing,” he answers, feeling lame. “I know it probably sounds like a dumb thing to major in.”

Josh laughs and gives him a knowing look. “You think that sounds dumb? I’m majoring in Music. I’m so glad you didn’t say something like Psychiatry or Aerospace Engineering. I would’ve felt like an idiot.” Josh smiles widely and it’s contagious so Tyler does, too.

Suddenly the lights dim and the conversations die down as orientation begins. Throughout, Josh whispers funny comments and snide remarks into Tyler’s ear, at which he has to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud. His jeans also become increasingly tight at Josh’s close proximity, and he actually hates himself. Damn teenage hormones.

When orientation ends, everyone stands up to leave. Tyler follows Josh out, wondering if this is the last time they’ll talk. “Do we go back to our dorms now?” Tyler asks, and Josh nods. “So, I guess this is goodbye?”

Josh pauses. “What dorm are you in?”

“Uh, the one on Wabash? I forget the name.”

Josh’s face lights up. “Bermuda. That’s my dorm.” They both smile at each other. “I’ll walk with you.”

On the walk back, they talk about the school, how Josh loves it, and how he plays the drums. They talk about Tyler, his love for writing, and how fun his new roommates are. He tells Josh that two of his roommates are juniors, to which he replies, “What are their names? I probably know them.”

Before Tyler can answer, though, they’re in their building and Tyler has to rummage through his pockets to find his Student ID to show Hank the security guard. Hank apparently knows Josh, given by the fact that he says, “Hey man, how’s it going,” before adding with a smug smile, “oh and hey, guess who your RA is.”

“I’m good, and who?” Josh questions him immediately.

“Hayley.” Hank snickers and Josh groans, but he’s smiling.

“I can never get away from her, I swear. Do you think she’s still mad about the whole fire extinguisher incident from last year?” Josh presses. Hank nods and they both laugh. They say their goodbyes and as Tyler and Josh walk towards the elevator, Tyler gets excited.

“Hey, Hayley’s your RA? Like, student body president Hayley?” Tyler chimes in, and Josh nods, obviously surprised Tyler knows who he’s talking about. “That means you’re on my floor!”

“Dude, no way, really?” Josh asks in surprise. They get into the elevator and Josh hits the eight button. Tyler knows the question that’s coming next. “What room are you in?”

“83B,” Tyler responds quickly, hope in his heart despite the fact there is a very small chance they’ll be in the same dorm.

“83B,” Josh repeats. Tyler nods. “Are you telling me,” he begins slowly, “that we just spent the last two hours together and didn’t even know that we’re roommates?”

The elevator door opens and they both stare at each other. Tyler feels butterflies in his stomach. No way.

“You’re-um. You’re my roommate?” Tyler asks incredulously. Josh smiles widely and grabs Tyler’s arm, tugging him to the end of the hall.

“Is this your dorm?” Josh questions, and Tyler nods slowly. “Well, then, nice to meet you, Tyler. My name’s Joshua Dun and I’m your new roommate.” He bites his bottom lip and Tyler hopes his jeans conceal his lower area because, damn. Josh steps towards the door and turns the handle, opening it without another word.

Tyler hears, “Look who finally showed up!” and “I swear you’d be late for your own funeral, Dun,” and then an, “Oh, I see you met Tyler.” But Tyler, however, is still frozen in the hallway as it washes over him that the Actual Hottest Man Alive, Joshua Dun, is his roommate.

He immediately knows his year is going to be absolute hell.

 

\---------- 

 

It’s 3 AM and all the boys are drunk except Tyler and Patrick. Tyler only had one beer so he’s just feeling a little tipsy and Patrick had refused to drink. According to Brendon, it was a tradition to drink on the first night of the school year, so here they were, sitting on their living room floor and playing Never Have I Ever as a “bonding experience.” He only has two fingers down and they’re starting to get into the hardcore questions. He fidgets in his seat.

“Never have I ever been gay.” Pete slurs, laughing a little at his own matter-of-fact tone. Tyler looks around, scared to answer truthfully for a minute. To his surprise, though, he sees Brendon and Patrick each put a finger down, so he slowly does the same. Pete looks between Tyler and Patrick, smiling. “I fuckin’ knew it.”

Disappointment tugs at Tyler harshly when he realizes Josh hadn’t put a finger down. _So much for that crush_ , Tyler thought, _didn’t even last a damn day._ Just then, though, Brendon retorts, “Never have I ever been bisexual,” and, yep, there goes Josh, Dallon, and Pete. Pete rolls his eyes and Brendon laughs loudly. “I love college.”

More sexual questions ensued and, to Tyler’s surprise, it wasn’t awkward. Well, that is, until Patrick tries, “Never have I ever eaten someone out.” Josh, Brendon, and Dallon all put fingers down, and Josh and Tyler make eye contact. Tyler’s face heats up and he quickly turns away. He is so dumb. Why is he even getting so hot and bothered? Yeah, Josh is the hottest human being to ever walk the planet, but he is way out of Tyler’s league. He’d never go for someone like Tyler.

 

\----------

 

When the game ended, everyone decided to call it a night.

Josh, to Tyler’s dismay, covered the bed across from his in a black comforter. “Guess we’re roomies,” he offers drunkenly, smiling.

Tyler gets under his own baby blue covers and tries not to stare at Josh’s ass as he spreads the comforter over the bed evenly and puts his pillowcases on. “Guess so.” He clears his throat. "Sorry you got stuck with me. I’m sure you wanted to be with Brendon or Pete.”

“I think I’ll survive.” Josh answers, turning around and winking at Tyler. Tyler rolls his eyes but feels himself blush again, burying his face in his covers when Josh turns back around. “Besides, Brendon snores.”

Tyler giggles and so does Josh. When he finishes with the pillowcases, Josh sits on his bed for a moment, just staring at Tyler with a smile on his face. After a minute, he gets up and flicks the lights off. Tyler hears shuffling as Josh gets into bed, before hearing him say, “Goodnight Tyler.”

“Goodnight Josh,” Tyler says to the darkness.

“It’s going to be an interesting year.” Josh says a little softer, and Tyler doesn’t respond.

An interesting year, indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter!! fun times to come. angst. smut. love u.
> 
> p.s. every chapter will be named after a song that corresponds w/ it. this one is Going Away To College by Blink-182


End file.
